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Travel: Best of Bahamas found at Sandyport

So what does one do when they win two tickets to anywhere WestJet flies in the world? (Hint: we didn’t go to Disneyland.) What my partner and I did do, after much research, was book a flight to Nassau, Bahamas, a place I’d never visited.

So what does one do when they win two tickets to anywhere WestJet flies in the world?

(Hint: we didn’t go to Disneyland.)

What my partner and I did do, after much research, was book a flight to Nassau, Bahamas, a place I’d never visited. And from there we carried on to Great Exuma, Bahamas, which had been on my bucket list for years. (Those stories were published in the June 10 edition of the Courier.)

It was while dropping off donations to a holiday food drive at AIDS Vancouver last November that I entered a draw for the tickets. I almost fell off my chair a few days later when I received word I’d won the grand prize. We chose Nassau because we were looking for somewhere warm, somewhere further than we can typically afford and somewhere reasonably easy to get to from YVR.

We then narrowed our search to the Sandyport area, which is considered more laid back than many sections of Nassau. The question then became where to stay? During our search I was repeatedly drawn to the website belonging, appropriately enough, to Sandyport Beaches Resort and Hotel with its colourful, waterfront villas located in a gated community on Cable Beach. I must have looked at those photos 100 times before we actually arrived. We also checked the resort out on TripAdvisor and liked what we saw.

TripAdvisor recently presented the resort with a certificate of excellence, an award based on guest reviews, and ranked it among the top five hotels on the island of New Providence, of which Nassau is the capital. We also liked it because of its easy access to liquor and grocery stores and the waterfront restaurants in the Sandyport Marina Village, including Blue Sail, a beachfront bar offering Mediterranean French fusion cuisine alongside some Bahamian favourites.  

But one of our favourite “dining” experiences of our entire two weeks in the Bahamas was not exactly in a restaurant. As we walked to our coral-coloured villa after checking into Sandyport on our first night in Nassau, in the distance I could hear the unmistakable R&B sounds of Curtis Mayfield singing “It’s All Right.” I traced the music to a tiny blue-and-white hut on the beach where a row of barstools called our name and a bartending chef named Cleveland gave us a very warm and rum-filled welcome to the Bahamas.

The next day, when the fog cleared, we set out to explore Nassau by bus. We’d heard the bus system was easy to navigate, which was true, so we headed out to Paradise Island where the rich and famous park their yachts and lose their money at the tables. Our plan was to visit what’s referred to as the “straw market” along the way, but an unexpected tropical storm brought in wind and rain so heavy it was blowing sideways and the tiny kiosks selling everything from ball caps to Bob Marley T-shirts were closed.

Nassau is a city of contrasts and nothing demonstrated that more than a trip across its nausea-inducing, potholed streets teeming with many low-income locals and moneyed visitors. We also travelled by taxi, which is an experience in itself. Taxis in Nassau are supposed to be licensed, but we travelled in some pretty sketchy vehicles, making us doubt the validity of that claim. But we did arrive at our destinations safely. Tip: always ask what the flat rate is, and if it seems inflated, barter.

We were lucky enough to arrive in Nassau the same week a new festival was about to launch, and the city was buzzing in anticipation of the big event, which included a carnival-style parade and concerts.

The Junkanoo Carnival is a celebration of all things Bahamian, including dance, food, arts and crafts and “rake ‘n’ scrape,” a style of music that’s thought to have its birth in Africa and was later brought to the Bahamas by slaves who made instruments out of recycled objects.

But seeking some rest and relaxation, we stuck close to Sandyport where we wandered down the street to explore and experience the true laid-back vibe of the area. We also enjoyed making meals in our colonial-style villa and eating on our balcony overlooking the azure-tinted water and Champagne-coloured sand. When we weren’t lying by the pool or beach we’d visit Lady Sarah, a.k.a. “Queen of Fun,” in the main building of the resort for suggestions on everything from where to eat to what activities we should check out.

They say first impressions are everything so our initial reaction to Nassau and the Bahamas, based on our experiences at Sandyport Beaches Resort, was happily a great one.

And now I have my own photographs of those coral, green, blue and yellow villas to gaze at when I’m feeling homesick for a tropical local.

sthomas@vancourier.com

@sthomas10